Assuming this is her own Roth IRA (not one connected to an employer retirement plan such as a 401(k) or 403(b)), assuming she is not yet 59.5 and assuming she has not made a Roth conversion in the past 5 years, then she may withdraw her CONTRIBUTIONS she has made over the years, without tax and without penalty. If she withdraws more than her cummulative contributions (i.e. if she withdraws the earnings from her past contributions), she will have to report this amount as ordinary income for the year and be subject to a 10% early withdrawal penalty.

If she is at least 59.5 when she makes her withdrawal, and providing she has held a Roth IRA for at least 5 years, all withdrawals will be tax free.

If she is completing a FAFSA and makes a Roth withdrawal that year, the next year she'll have to report on her FAFSA the withdrawal amount as income.

A traditional IRA has different rules...but I won't go into that, as you didn't ask.

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